Non-contact power supply device

ABSTRACT

A non-contact charging cart station includes a housing and a plurality of non-contact charging devices. The housing has a cart placement region on which stackable carts or the like can be inserted along a cart placement direction. The plurality of non-contact charging devices are in the housing and aligned in the cart placement region along the cart placement direction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/886,285, filed on May 28, 2020, which is based upon and claims thebenefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-124055,filed on Jul. 2, 2019, the entire contents of each of which areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a non-contact powersupply device.

BACKGROUND

In a retail store such as a supermarket, a shopping cart is often used.It is possible to improve customer convenience by attaching anelectronic apparatus to the shopping cart, such as a commodityregistration apparatus for reading commodity information of items beingput into the shopping cart for purchase.

However, when an electronic device is attached to the cart, it becomesnecessary to supply power to charge a battery for powering the attachedelectronic device. As a method of charging, there is a method ofcharging by a wired connection, such as a plug, may be considered.However, the use of a wired connection, tends to cause variousoperational restrictions and difficulties. There is also a method ofcharging by non-contact power supply. In the case of non-contact powersupply, power can be supplied wirelessly from a power transmitting unitto a power receiving unit on the cart and the restrictions anddifficulties associated with wired connections can be avoided.

In general, it is desirable to precisely position the cart relative tothe power transmitting unit. However, since the cart is mobile and ingeneral free to move along the floor in any direction, it is difficultto position the cart, and keep the cart positioned precisely, relativeto the installation position of the power transmitting unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a non-contact power supplysystem according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a cart.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a non-contact power supplydevice according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a top view of a non-contact power supply deviceaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a positioning portion.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In general, according to an embodiment, a non-contact charging cartstation includes a housing and a plurality of non-contact chargingdevices. The housing has a cart placement region in which carts can beinserted along a cart placement direction. The plurality of non-contactcharging devices are in the housing and aligned in the cart placementregion along the cart placement direction.

Hereinafter, example embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should benoted that these example embodiments described below are not intended tolimit the scope of the present disclosure. In the following examples, anon-contact power supply device that wirelessly supplies power to ashopping cart equipped with an electronic commodity registrationapparatus for use in a retail store is described. The non-contact powersupply device of the present disclosure is not limited to such anapplication or location, and, in general, any mobile apparatus or thelike incorporating a battery or charge storage unit can be charged bythe non-contact power supply device of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an example of a non-contactpower supply system 1 according to the present embodiment. Thenon-contact power supply system 1 includes a cart 10 and a non-contactpower supply device 20 (hereinafter referred to as a non-contactcharging cart station 20). FIG. 1 shows a case where a non-contactcharging cart station 20 is placed at a retail store.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of an example of the cart 10. In aretail store such as a supermarket, an item (commodity) which a customerselects for purchase is placed in a cart 10. The cart 10 is a pushcartor the like that can be moved about the store by the customer.

Cart 10 includes a base portion 11 for movement. The base portion 11 isincludes a pair of front wheels 111 and 112 and a pair of rear wheels113 and 114. The distance between the front wheel 111 and the frontwheel 112 is smaller than the distance between the rear wheel 113 andthe rear wheel 114. A mounting part 117 is disposed below the baseportion 11. A power receiving unit 116, which receives electric power bynon-contact power supply, is attached to the mounting part 117. Thepower receiving unit 116 is disposed substantially horizontally.

A housing part 12 is disposed above the base portion 11. In thisexample, the housing part 12 is basket-like. The housing part 12 issupported by a support column 13 extending from the base portion 11. Theflap 121 on the rear side of the housing part 12 is hinged or the likeso that flap 121 can be opened and closed. Therefore, as shown in FIG.1, by inserting the housing part 12 of the one cart 10 into the housingpart 12 of another cart 10, it is possible to stack several carts 10 ina relatively narrow area. It is noted that the cart 10 does not have toinclude a basket-like housing part 12. For example, in some embodiments,the housing part 12 of the cart 10 may have a basket receiving part fordetachably mounting a hand-carriable commodity basket or the likethereon.

A holder 14 containing a secondary battery is disposed below the housingpart 12. The secondary battery is a battery for storing the electricpower received by the power receiving unit 116.

The support column 13 includes a handle portion 15 to be gripped by acustomer using the cart 10. The support column 13 includes a supportpart 17 for supporting the commodity registration apparatus 16.

The commodity registration apparatus 16 is an apparatus for registeringitems for sale. The commodity registration apparatus 16 includes ascanner 161 and a display unit 162. The scanner 161 reads commodityinformation of the item for sale. For example, the scanner 161 reads abar code or the like disposed on the item for sale. The display unit 162is, for example, a touch panel display. The display unit 162 displays,for example, a commodity name and other information related to an itemscanned with the scanner 161. The commodity registration apparatus 16 ispowered by the secondary battery stored in the holder 14.

Next, a description will be given of the non-contact charging cartstation 20. FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an example of thenon-contact charging cart station 20. FIG. 4 illustrates a top view ofan example of the non-contact charging cart station 20. The non-contactcharging cart station 20 includes a power transmitting unit 21 fortransmitting electric power to a power receiving unit 116 of a cart 10mounted thereon by non-contact power supply. When the power receivingunit 116 of the cart 10 is not located at a position opposed to thepower transmitting unit 21 of the non-contact charging cart station 20,the power supply efficiency is deteriorated. To address this issue, thenon-contact charging cart station 20 is configured such that the cart 10can be easily arranged at a position where the power receiving unit 116and the power transmitting unit 21 are opposed to each other. In FIGS. 1to 5, it is assumed that the direction in which the cart 10 enters thenon-contact charging cart station 20 is in the Y direction. Thisdirection may be referred to as a cart placement direction.

More specifically, the non-contact charging cart station 20 is coveredwith a housing 22. The housing 22 includes one or more powertransmitting units 21. In FIGS. 3 and 4, a plurality of powertransmitting units 21 are aligned in the cart placement direction. Aninterval of the power transmitting units 21 is substantially equal to aninterval of the stacked carts placed on the non-contact charging cartstation 20. The non-contact charging cart station 20 also includes alight emitting unit 211 around each of the one or more powertransmitting units 21. In an embodiment, an interval of the powertransmitting units 21 is substantially equal to an interval of the lightemitting units 211. The light emitting unit 211 emits light when thepower receiving unit 116 is located at a position opposed to the powertransmitting unit 21. Thus, the manager or the like of the retail storecan identify whether or not the battery is charged by the non-contactpower supply. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show a non-contact charging cart station20 including a plurality of power transmitting units 21 and a pluralityof light emitting units 211.

The housing 22 of the non-contact charging cart station has a certainthickness to accommodate the power transmitting unit 21 therein. Thenon-contact charging cart station 20 has a slope 23 on the entrance sideof the cart 10. The slope 23 has an inclination from the surface onwhich the non-contact charging cart station 20 is provided to theplacement region 24 on which the cart 10 is placed. The slope 23 may bereferred to as a ramp.

The placement region 24 is provided on the upper surface of thenon-contact charging cart station 20. The placement region 24 is aregion in which a cart 10 having a commodity registration apparatus 16and a power receiving unit 116 for receiving power to be supplied to thecommodity registration apparatus 16 is placed. The placement region 24may be referred to as a cart placement surface. The power transmittingunit 21 is disposed substantially horizontally at a position opposed tothe power receiving unit 116 in the placement region 24, and generates amagnetic field. In this way, the power transmitting unit 21 transmitspower to the power receiving unit 116 by non-contact (wireless) powersupply. As a method of non-contact power supply, various methods such aselectromagnetic induction type and magnetic field resonance type areknown, but, in general, various other non-contact methods can be used.In the present disclosure, the term “non-contact” is used to refer topower transmission being carried out wirelessly as opposed to via wiredconnections. Therefore, even if the power transmitting unit 21 and thepower receiving unit 116 are in contact with each other at the time ofpower supply, regardless of whether such contact is intended or not,this is still considered to be non-contact power supply since the powertransmission is performed without a wired connection between the powertransmitting unit 21 and the power receiving unit 116.

In order to dispose the power transmitting unit 21 and the powerreceiving unit 116 at positions opposed to each other, the cart 10 mustbe placed at an appropriate position in the width direction (X-axisdirection) of the non-contact charging cart station 20 perpendicular tothe entering direction of the cart 10.

The non-contact charging cart station 20 includes a central wheel guideportion 25, a first side wheel guide portion 26, and a second side wheelguide portion 27. The central wheel guide portion 25, the first sidewheel guide portion 26, and the second side wheel guide portion 27 maybe collectively referred to as a wheel guide or cart wheel guide. Thecentral wheel guide portion 25 is a convex part disposed substantiallyat the center of the non-contact charging cart station 20. Further, thecentral wheel guide portion 25 extends from the entrance side of thecart 10 to the end of the placement region 24 on which the cart 10 isplaced. Further, the central wheel guide portion 25 is increases inwidth as it advances from the entrance side of the cart 10 to theplacement region 24. The central wheel guide portion 25 has a widthsubstantially equal to the width from the front wheel 111 to the frontwheel 112 of the cart 10 in the placement region 24. By such a shape,the central wheel guide portion 25 determines the position in the widthdirection of the front wheels 111 and 112 of the cart 10. That is, thecentral wheel guide portion 25 determines the position of the cart 10 inthe X-axis direction in the non-contact charging cart station 20.

The first side wheel guide portion 26 and the second side wheel guideportion 27 are convex parts which are arranged laterally with respect tothe central wheel guide portion 25 in the entering direction of the cart10. The first side wheel guide portion 26 and the second side wheelguide portion 27 extend from the entrance side of the cart 10 to the endof the placement region 24 on which the cart 10 is placed. Further, thefirst side wheel guide portion 26 and the second side wheel guideportion 27 are increased in width as they advance from the entrance sideof the cart 10 to the placement region 24. In addition, the first sidewheel guide portion 26 has substantially the same width as the widthfrom the front wheel 111 to the rear wheel 113 of the cart 10 in theplacement region 24. The second side wheel guide portion 27 hassubstantially the same width as the width from the front wheel 112 tothe rear wheel 114 of the cart 10 in the placement region 24.

The distance between the inner side of the first side wheel guideportion 26 and the central wheel guide portion 25 is substantially thesame as the width of the front wheel 111. The distance from the innerside of the second side wheel guide portion 27 to the central wheelguide portion 25 is substantially the same as the width of the frontwheel 112.

The distance from the outside of the first side wheel guide portion 26to the outside of the second side wheel guide portion 27 issubstantially equal to the width from the rear wheel 113 to the rearwheel 114 of the cart 10. By such a shape, the first side wheel guideportion 26 and the second side wheel guide portion 27 determine thepositions of the front wheels 111 and 112 and the rear wheels 113 and114 of the cart 10 in the width direction.

Therefore, when the cart 10 is placed on the placement region 24, thecentral wheel guide portion 25, the first side wheel guide portion 26and the second side wheel guide portion 27 can restrict the position ofthe cart 10 in the width direction in the non-contact charging cartstation 20. That is, the non-contact charging cart station 20 can fixthe position of the cart 10 in the X-axis direction.

The width of the gap between the central wheel guide portion 25 and thefirst side wheel guide portion 26 is substantially the same as the widthof the front wheel 111. The front wheel 111 guided by the central wheelguide portion 25 and the first side wheel guide portion 26 runs in a gapbetween the central wheel guide portion 25 and the first side wheelguide portion 26. That is, the central wheel guide portion 25 and thefirst side wheel guide portion 26 form a first front wheel running path242 on which the front wheel 111 of the cart 10 runs. The central wheelguide portion 25 and the first side wheel guide portion 26 forming thefirst front wheel running path 242 may be referred to as a first wheelguide.

Similarly, the width of the gap between the central wheel guide portion25 and the second side wheel guide portion 27 is substantially the sameas the width of the front wheel 112. The front wheel 112 guided by thecentral wheel guide portion 25 and the second side wheel guide portion27 runs in a gap between the central wheel guide portion 25 and thesecond side wheel guide portion 27. That is, the central wheel guideportion 25 and the second side wheel guide portion 27 form a secondfront wheel running path 243 on which the front wheel 112 of the cart 10runs. The central wheel guide portion 25 and the second side wheel guideportion 27 forming the second front wheel running path 243 may bereferred to as a second wheel guide.

The central wheel guide portion 25, the first side wheel guide portion26, and the second side wheel guide portion 27 increase in width as theyadvance from the entrance side of the cart 10 to the placement region24. In other words, the first front wheel running path 242 and thesecond front wheel running path 243 are substantially the same width asthe front wheels 111 and 112 in the placement region 24, but theportions entering the first front wheel running path 242 and the secondfront wheel running path 243 extended in the width direction. Thecentral wheel guide portion 25, the first side wheel guide portion 26and the second side wheel guide portion 27 have a convex shape.

That is, the placement region 24 includes a first front wheel runningpath 242 and a second front wheel running path 243, which are therunning paths of the wheels of the cart 10, in which the width narroweras the cart 10 advances from the entering side. These portions of thefirst front wheel running path 242 and a second front wheel running path243 may be referred to a cart introductory portion. The placement region24 includes an entrance portion 244 of a first front wheel running path242 and a second front wheel running path 243.

In this manner, the central wheel guide portion 25, the first side wheelguide portion 26 and the second side wheel guide portion 27 guide thefront wheels 111, 112. Therefore, the operator can easily advance thecart 10 along the first front wheel running path 242 and the secondfront wheel running path 243 by pushing the cart 10 from the entranceside of the non-contact charging cart station 20.

The first front wheel running path 242 and the second front wheelrunning path 243 include positioning portions 241 for settling theposition of the cart 10 in the entering direction. Each of thepositioning portions 241 settles a wheel of the cart 10, i.e., one ofthe front wheels 111 and 112 thereon by a weight of the cart 10. Here,FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an example of thepositioning portion 241. As shown in FIG. 5, the positioning portion 241is, for example, a recessed part having a smooth curve. The positioningportion 241 may be referred to as a wheel settlement region. In FIGS. 3and 4, each of the first front wheel running path 242 and the secondfront wheel running path 243 has a plurality of positioning portions 241aligned in the entering direction with an interval same as an intervalof the power transmitting units 21

In this way, since the positioning portion 241 has a recessed shape, thefront wheels 111 and 112 are disposed on the rolling bottom surface.Therefore, the positioning portion 241 can fix the positions of thefront wheels 111 and 112.

That is, the non-contact charging cart station 20 can position of thecart 10 along the entering direction in the placement region 24.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, the positioning portion 241 has asmooth curved bottom surface. Therefore, the cart be pushed through thepositioning portion 241 with relative ease. The positioning portion 241is not limited to a recessed part having a smooth curved bottom surface,but in other examples may be a simple recessed part having no curvedbottom surface. For example, the positioning portion 241 may be simply arecess or gap portion.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, by inserting the housing part 12 of the onecart 10 into the housing part 12 of another cart 10, it is possible tostack a large number of carts 10 within a small area. Therefore, theinterval between adjacent positioning portions 241 along the enteringdirection is shorter than the total length along the entering directionof the cart 10.

The placement region 24 of the non-contact charging cart station 20includes a stopping portion 28 for stopping the cart 10 running on thesurface on the placement region 24, and the stopping portion 28 isdisposed in front side of the entering direction of the cart 10 on theplacement region 24. More specifically, the placement unit 24 of thenon-contact charging cart station 20 includes a stopping portion 28 atthe end of the first front wheel running path 242 and the second frontwheel running path 243. The stopping portion 28 is a convex partextending from the outer side of the first side wheel guide portion 26to the outside of the second side wheel guide portion 27. With such ashape, the stopping portion 28 prevents the front wheels 111 and 112from being pushed past of the placement region 24 by the operator. Thatis, the stopping portion 28 prevents the cart 10 from being pushedbeyond the placement region 24. It is noted that the stopping portion 28is not limited to a convex part extending from the outside of the firstside wheel guide portion 26 to the outside of the second side wheelguide portion 27, but also may be a projection provided in the firstfront wheel running path 242 or the second front wheel running path 243.The stopping portion 28 may be referred to as a wheel stop or bumper.

As described above, the non-contact charging cart station 20 includes aplacement region 24 on which a cart 10 (having a commodity registrationapparatus 16 and a power receiving unit 116) is placed. The powertransmitting unit is disposed substantially horizontally at a positionopposite to the power receiving unit 116 in the placement region 24.Then, the power transmitting unit 21 transmits power in the verticaldirection. Therefore, in the non-contact charging cart station 20, thecart 10 can be disposed at a position opposite to the power transmittingunit 21.

In the example embodiment(s), a non-contact charging cart station 20 isprovided on the floor of a cart storage place. However, the non-contactcharging cart station 20 of the present disclosure may be built-in atthe cart storage place. If the non-contact charging cart station 20 isbuilt-in or embedded at the cart storage place, the slope 23 may beomitted if there is no step up between the non-contact charging cartstation 20 and the floor/ground.

In other examples, the non-contact charging cart station 20 may bebuilt-in or embedded in the cart storage place such that the uppersurface of the placement region 24 is lower than the floor/groundsurface. In such cases, the non-contact charging cart station 20 mayhave an inclined surface that descends from the floor/ground surfacetowards the placement region 24. Since the non-contact charging cartstation 20 in such an example has an inclined surface that descends fromthe ground to the placement region 24, the cart 10 can remain on theplacement region 24 unless the operator intentionally pulls the cart 10out.

In the above-described non-contact charging cart station 20, the firstfront wheel running path 242, and the second front wheel running path243 are formed by the central wheel guide portion 25, the first sidewheel guide portion 26, and the second side wheel guide portion 27.However, the first front wheel running path 242 and the second frontwheel running path 243 may be formed by a recess in the floor or thelike in some examples.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described hereinmay be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodimentsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit of theinventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intendedto cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope andspirit of the inventions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-contact power supply device, comprising: ahousing having a cart placement region onto which stackable carts can bemounted along a cart placement direction, the stackable cart beingstackable at a first interval; and three or more non-contact chargingdevices that are in the housing and aligned in the cart placement regionalong the cart placement direction at the first interval, wherein eachof the non-contact charging devices is configured to perform non-contactcharging with respect to a non-contact power receiver of one of thestackable carts stacked at the first interval and mounted onto the cartplacement region.
 2. The non-contact power supply device according toclaim 1, wherein each of the non-contact charging devices has anon-contact charging surface parallel to a surface of the cart placementregion.
 3. The non-contact power supply device according to claim 1,further comprising: a wheel stop provided at an end of the cartplacement region.
 4. The non-contact power supply device according toclaim 1, further comprising: three or more light emitting devices in thehousing and aligned along the cart placement direction in respectivecorrespondence with the three or more non-contact charging devices atthe first interval.
 5. The non-contact power supply device according toclaim 4, wherein each of the light emitting devices is configured toemit light when a non-contact power receiver of one of the stackablecarts is above the corresponding one of the non-contact chargingdevices.
 6. The non-contact power supply device according to claim 1,wherein the first interval is less than a total length of the stackablecart along the cart placement direction.
 7. The non-contact power supplydevice according to claim 1, wherein the cart placement region includesa ramp that is inclined along the cart placement direction.
 8. Ashopping cart system comprising: a plurality of stackable cartsstackable at a first interval, each of the stackable carts including anon-contact power receiver; and a cart station including: a housinghaving a cart placement region onto which the stackable carts can bemounted along a cart placement direction; and three or more non-contactcharging devices that are in the housing and aligned in the cartplacement region along the cart placement direction at the firstinterval, wherein each of the non-contact charging devices is configuredto perform non-contact charging with respect to the non-contact powerreceiver of one of the stackable carts stacked at the first interval andmounted onto the cart placement region.
 9. The shopping cart systemaccording to claim 8, wherein each of the non-contact charging deviceshas a non-contact charging surface parallel to a surface of the cartplacement region.
 10. The shopping cart system according to claim 9,wherein the non-contact power receiver in each of the stackable cart isdisposed parallel to the surface of the cart placement region.
 11. Theshopping cart system according to claim 8, wherein the cart stationfurther includes a wheel stop provided at an end of the cart placementregion.
 12. The shopping cart system according to claim 8, the cartstation further includes three or more light emitting devices in thehousing and aligned along the cart placement direction in respectivecorrespondence with the three or more non-contact charging devices atthe first interval.
 13. The shopping cart system according to claim 12,wherein each of the light emitting devices is configured to emit lightwhen the non-contact power receiver of one of the stackable cartsstacked at the first interval and mounted onto the cart placement regionis above the corresponding one of the non-contact charging devices. 14.The shopping cart system according to claim 8, wherein the firstinterval is less that a total length of one of the plurality ofstackable carts along the cart placement direction.
 15. The shoppingcart system according to claim 8, wherein the cart placement regionincludes a ramp that is inclined along the cart placement direction. 16.The shopping cart system according to claim 8, wherein the cart stationfurther includes a wheel guide in the cart placement region, the wheelguide extending in the cart placement direction, wherein the wheel guideincludes three or more wheel settlement regions aligned along the cartplacement direction at the first interval, each of the wheel settlementregions being shaped to fit a wheel of one of the stackable cartsstacked at the first interval and mounted onto the cart placementregion.
 17. The shopping cart system according to claim 16, wherein thewheel guide includes a cart introduction portion, and a guide width ofthe cart introduction portion narrows with distance along the cartplacement direction.
 18. The shopping cart system according to claim 16,wherein the wheel guide includes a first wheel guide and a second wheelguide that extend in the cart placement direction, and the non-contactcharging devices are between the first wheel guide and the second wheelguide.
 19. The shopping cart system according to claim 18, wherein thefirst wheel guide includes three or more first wheel settlement regionsaligned along the cart placement direction, each of the first wheelsettlement regions being shaped to fit a wheel of one of the stackablecarts stacked at the first interval and mounted onto the cart placementregion, and the second wheel guide includes three or more second wheelsettlement regions aligned along the cart placement direction, each ofthe second wheel settlement regions being shaped to fit a wheel of oneof the stackable carts stacked at the first interval and mounted ontothe cart placement region.
 20. The shopping cart system according toclaim 19, wherein the first wheel settlement regions are aligned at thefirst interval along the cart placement direction, and the second wheelsettlement regions are aligned at the first interval along the cartplacement direction.